We awoke at the terminal moraine bar in Holkham Bay at the entrance to Endicott Arm. A light haze hung in the air, creating varying blue layers of hills and mountains around the bay. Humpback whales surfaced and blew in several directions. Clouds above created soft light that brought out the blue in the “bergy bits” (smaller pieces of icebergs) that floated by. We entered a section of the bay where hundreds of surf scoters floated alongside Canada geese, and marbled murrlets bobbed in the calm reflective waters. Bald eagles sat atop ice floes, riding them out in the current and flying off to fish now and then. The bay was a hub of activity this morning! After breakfast, we continued our journey up Endicott Arm towards Dawes Glacier, inside Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness within the Tongass National Forest. Bits of incredible blue ice floated past us languidly in reflective waters. We stopped within view of the glacier and launched Zodiacs to explore the ice, waterfalls, and amazing geology of this fjord. All of us learned about the geology and natural history of the fjord, and several guests witnessed calving ice off the face of the glacier while others explored beautiful pieces of textured ice.
7/21/2024
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National Geographic Venture
Chichagof Island and the Inian Islands
We left Sitka last night under a low ceiling of clouds. At daybreak, the sun briefly punched through the clouds, illuminating the snowy peaks and calm waters of western Chichagof Island. The ship cruised into the lustrous scene and anchored in Lisianski Inlet. We dispersed to various beaches for different hikes, to experience the wilderness and introduce ourselves to the temperate rainforest and the Tongass National Forest. The tide was low, and many of the groups were able to admire sea stars and intertidal life in the landing zones. Following brunch, we made our way north to the Inian Islands. However, wind and fog prevented us from safely dropping Zodiacs for tours there. Our expedition leader pivoted, and we set course for a known humpback whale feeding area called Port Adolphus. Along the way, we were sidetracked by a small group of orcas! We pivoted again and tailed the whales at a respectful distance. After about an hour, we set course for the humpbacks, and we were rewarded with active groups of feeding, pectoral slapping, and occasionally breaching whales. The whale action didn’t end there — after dinner, we stopped for bubble-net feeding whales!